The present invention pertains generally to alarm system for alerting a resident of the presence of excessive temperatures within a heating appliance such as a wood stove or fireplace insert.
With the increase in popularity of wood stoves and wood burning fireplace inserts has come an increase in home fires resulting from excessive temperatures which may be high enough to ignite adjacent wall structures not adequately spaced from the appliance or adequately protected by insulation. Another risk encountered in the heating of a home by a solid fuel burning appliance is that of a flue fire caused by the ignition of deposits on the exhaust pipe and/or chimney. While heat indicating thermostats are available for installation on stove surfaces, such as that device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,289, the same require periodic monitoring by the user which is impractical. Additionally, surface temperatures of stoves and fireplace inserts may reach a level as to cause injury upon accidental contact therewith.
Surface mounted thermometers include those disclosed in U.S. Pats. No. 2,771,775; 1,824,933 and 2,456,062 all of which are considerably more complex than the present alarm system.